54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTmJTION, 19 64 



Colorful new exhibits of objects from the Near East, Japan, Korea, 

 China, and North and West Africa were first placed on public view 

 when the west portion of the Hall of the Cultures of Asia and Africa 

 was informally opened in late June. Among the exhibits interpreting 

 the traditional cultures of the Asiatic peoples are a life-size group 

 portraying an episode from a Chinese opera, with accompanying push- 

 button sound recording, a display of objects illustrating the evolution 

 of farming in Japan, and a unit on the daily and religious life in Tibet. 

 The Republic of Korea has lent one of its national art treasures, a cast- 

 iron figure of Buddha from the Koryo dynasty ( A.D. 935-1392) , which 

 is presented in a temple setting with a paneled screen of red silk bro- 

 cade. North and West African cultures present many striking works 

 of art from peoples whose accomplishments have had a profound influ- 

 ence upon modern art in Europe and America. One of the most 

 dramatic displays is a diorama portraying the smelting of iron ore in 

 primitive furnaces and the fashioning of iron tools by tribesmen from 

 the Mandara Mountain region of the Northern Camaroons. This 

 miniature group was created by exhibits specialists John Weaver, 

 Robert Caffrey, and Peter De Anna. The exhibits in this hall were 

 planned by associate curators of ethnology Gordon R. Gibson and 

 Eugene Knez. The hall layout was made by exhibits designer Dorothy 

 Guthrie and the graphic design of individual units was executed by 

 exhibits designer Lucius Lomax. 



The completely renovated life-size group portraying quarrying 

 operations and making of stone artifacts by Indians some 500 years 

 ago at the Piney Branch site, within the present boundaries of the 

 District of Columbia, was opened to the public in the Hall of North 

 American Archeology. Another life-group illustrating Indian copper 

 mining in present Michigan was nearing completion at year's end. 

 Contract construction in the new Hall of Classical Archeology was 

 virtually completed at year's end; the hall was designed by exhibits 

 designer Rolland O. Hower under the scientific supervision of asso- 

 ciate curator Gus Van Beek. 



The construction contractor's work in the new Hall of Physical 

 Anthropology also was nearing completion at the end of June. About 

 half of the exhibit units for this hall have been completed by exhibits 

 designer Joseph Shannon, who also served as architectural designer 

 for the hall. The contents of the exhibits have been specified by T. 

 Dale Stewart, director of the Museum of Natural History, and 

 Lawrence Angel, curator-in-charge of the Division of Physical 

 Anthropology. 



During the spring of 1964, Dr. Knez supervised the exhibits instal- 

 lation of 41 outstanding examples of Chinese, Buddhist, and Hindu 

 stone sculpture, bronze, and other items from China, India, Cambodia, 



